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Mariah Mandelbaum had 19 digs and helped hold Biola to a .146 attack percentage.

Women's Volleyball

Sunbirds overwhelm #3 Eagles

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Top-ranked Fresno Pacific came out firing on Tuesday night, overwhelming #3 Biola 25-11 in the first set and going on to sweep the second-place Eagles.

The win moves the Sunbirds (22-0, 13-0 GSAC) two games ahead of the Eagles (20-5, 11-2 GSAC) who saw an 11-match win streak snapped.

"We came out and played well against a very good team," said coach Dennis Janzen. "Our kids prepared well and it really showed."

FPU held the Eagles to a .146 attack percentage on the night, including a negative .091 mark in the first set. Eagles star Christine Douglas took 31 swings on the night, but was limited to a .129 attack percentage.

The Sunbird block affected the Eagle attack all night and anything that got through was usually swallowed up by Mariah Mandelbaum, who finished with a match-high 19 digs.

"Our serve and pass was outstanding," said Janzen. "I think the play of Mariah is just at another level. She's playing the libero position about as well as you can play it."

It became apparent very early on that the Sunbirds had come to play at their highest level. Wearing pink uniforms to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer, the Sunbirds jumped out to a 5-1 lead. That lead quickly became 9-2 and then 15-5 as FPU frustrated every Biola attempt to get anything going.

The closest the Eagles would come from that point was a 17-8 deficit. The Sunbirds closed out the set with consecutive service aces by Emily Carroll.

Biola would put up more of a fight in set two, but the Eagles never led in the set. Biola drew within two at 22-20, but a Keke Wang kill followed by two rejections of Eagle attacks involving Lisa Shilling gave FPU the 25-20 win.

After a slow start in set three, the Sunbirds finished what they started. Trailing 9-7, FPU went on a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead behind two kills from Martina Gregusova. Biola would tie it at 13 and again at 15, but the Sunbirds refused to let Douglas and the Eagle attack get into any kind of rhythm.

A 4-0 run, capped by kills from freshmen Kathleen Anderson and Karah Mitchell put FPU up 20-16. The Eagles then got back into it with two kills from Douglas, two FPU errors and another kill to take a brief one-point lead.

Gregusova answered for FPU with a kill and an Erica Adachi service ace put the Sunbirds back on top. Two Eagle points put Biola up 23-22, but a kill and a service ace by Gregusova put it at match-point. Wang delivered the final kill, swatting home a pass from Adachi to win it.

Wang and Gregusova had 12 kills each, with Wang not registering a single error on the night. Shilling had five blocks, Adachi finished with 22 assists and Carroll added 11 assists and four service aces.

The Sunbirds teamed with the Sideout Foundation to raise funds in the fight against breast cancer. The Dig Pink event was the highest attended Sunbird sporting event of the year, as fans clad in pink packed out the Special Events Center.

FPU also took time to honor the 2010 Men's Swimming and Diving team, recognizing their national championship and adding the team's banner to the seven other national title banners already hanging.

The Sunbirds will be on the road this weekend for a rare doubleheader on Saturday, as they take on Vanguard at 2 pm, then face Hope International at 7 pm. FPU does not play at home again until November 6 vs. sixth-ranked Cal Baptist.

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